The effect of the low Earth orbit environment on space solar cells: Results of the Advanced Photovoltaic Experiment (S0014)

The results of post-flight performance testing of the solar cells flown on the Advanced Photovoltaic Experiment are reported. Comparison of post-flight current-voltage characteristics with similar pre-flight data revealed little or no change in solar cell conversion efficiency, confirming the reliability and endurance of space photovoltaic cells. This finding is in agreement with the lack of significant physical changes in the solar cells despite nearly six years in the low Earth orbit environment

Combining cellular and gene therapy approaches for treatment of intracranial tumors.

New treatments are needed for brain metastasis, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Two novel cellular and gene therapy modalities were evaluated in xenograft models for human breast cancer. The individual and especially the combined treatments with alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes and replicating retroviral vectors coding for prodrug activating enzymes followed later with nontoxic prodrug demonstrated efficacy without off-target effects

Analytical solution of the equation of motion for a rigid domain wall in a magnetic material with perpendicular anisotropy

This paper reports the solution of the equation of motion for a domain wall in a magnetic material which exhibits high magneto-crystalline anisotropy. Starting from the Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert equation for field-induced motion, we solve the equation to give an analytical expression, which specifies the domain wall position as a function of time. Taking parameters from a Co/Pt multilayer system, we find good quantitative agreement between calculated and experimentally determined wall velocities, and show that high field uniform wall motion occurs when wall rigidity is assumed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

321W average power, 1GHz, 20ps 1060nm pulsed fiber MOPA source

Pulses from a gain-switched laser diode were amplified in a fiber MOPA system to produce in excess of 320W of average power in 20ps pulses at 1GHz repetition rate at 1060nm

Electro-optical Plethysmography for Non-invasive Estimation of Hemoglobin Concentration

Novel sensors and instrumentation are currently being investigated with the intended application of determining the concentration of hemoglobin and other optically absorbing compounds in blood using non-invasive methods. In order to measure concentration, the mass or amount of a compound must be known in addition to the volume of liquid. In principle, it may be possible to estimate hemoglobin concentration from a change in optical absorbance occurring over the cardiac cycle divided by a corresponding change in measured blood volume during the cycle measured from peripheral tissue, e.g. the finger or ear. Electrical and optical sensors were evaluated in vitro using a tissue phantom and an absorbing liquid medium. The effect of changes in optical absorption and pulse pressure on the capacitance and optical absorbance were studied

Investigation of peripheral photoplethysmographic morphology changes induced during a hand-elevation study

A hand-elevation study was carried out in the laboratory in order to alter peripheral blood flow with the aim of increasing understanding of factors affecting the morphology of peripheral photoplethysmographic signals. Photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals were recorded from twenty healthy volunteer subjects during a hand-elevation study in which the right hand was raised and lowered relative to heart level, while the left hand remained static. Red and infrared (IR) PPG signals were obtained from the right and left index fingers using a custom-made PPG processing system. PPG features were identified using a feature-detection algorithm based on the first derivative of the PPG signal. The systolic PPG amplitude, the reflection index, crest time, pulse width at half height, and delta T were calculated from 20 s IR PPG signals from three positions of the right hand with respect to heart level (-50, 0, +50 cm) in 19 volunteers. PPG features were found to change with hand elevation. On lowering the hand to 50 cm below heart level, ac systolic PPG amplitudes from the finger decreased by 68.32 %, while raising the arm increased the systolic amplitude by 69.99 %. These changes in amplitude were attributed to changes in hydrostatic pressure and the veno-arterial reflex. Other morphological variables, such as crest time, were found to be statistically significantly different across hand positions, indicating increased vascular resistance on arm elevation than on dependency. It was hypothesized that these morphological PPG changes were influenced by changes in downstream venous resistance, rather than arterial, or arteriolar, resistance. Changes in hand position relative to heart level can significantly affect the morphology of the peripheral ac PPG waveform. These alterations are due to a combination of physical effects and physiological responses to changes in hand position, which alter vascular resistance. Care should be taken when interpreting morphological data derived from PPG signals and methods should be standardized to take these effects into account

Venous pooling and drainage affects photoplethysmographic signals at different vertical hand positions

The aim of the current work is to investigate the possibility of augmenting pulse oximetry algorithms to enable the estimation of venous parameters in peripheral tissues. In order to further understand the contribution of venous blood to the photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal, recordings were made from six healthy volunteer subjects during an exercise in which the right hand was placed in various positions above and below heart level. The left hand was kept at heart level as a control while the right hand was moved. A custom-made two-channel dual wavelength PPG instrumentation system was used to obtain the red and infrared plethysmographic signals from both the right and left index fingers simultaneously using identical sensors. Laser Doppler flowmetry signals were also recorded from an adjacent fingertip on the right hand. Analysis of all acquired PPG signals indicated changes in both ac and dc amplitude of the right hand when the position was changed, while those obtained from the left (control) hand remained relatively constant. Most clearly, in the change from heart level to 50cm below heart level there is a substantial decrease in both dc and ac amplitudes. This decrease in dc amplitude most likely corresponds to increased venous pooling, and hence increased absorption of light. It is speculated that the decrease in ac PPG amplitude is due to reduced arterial emptying during diastole due to increased downstream resistance due to venous pooling

Pulse oximetry of body cavities and organs

The focus of this paper will be in the development and in vivo applications of new custom made photoplethysmographic (PPG) and pulse oximetry optical and fiber optic sensors and instrumentation in an effort to investigate their suitability in the estimation of blood oxygen saturation and their contribution in the assessment of organ/tissue perfusion and viability. The paper describes the development of optical and fiber optic PPG and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) sensors and covers examples of application areas including real-time PPG monitoring from body cavities (esophagus) and solid or hollow organs (bowel, liver, stomach, brain, etc). The clinical studies presented successfully demonstrated the feasibility in acquiring PPGs and estimating blood oxygen saturation values from a variety of organs and tissues. The technological developments and the measurements presented in this work pave the way in a new era of pulse oximetry where direct and continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation of internal organs and tissues could be made possible

Method for producing angled optical fiber tips in the laboratory

A simple laboratory method is presented for producing optical fibers with tips polished at various angles. Angled optical fiber tips are used in applications such as optical sensing and remote laser surgery, where they can be used to control the angle of light leaving the fiber or direct it to the side. This allows for greater control and allows areas to be reached that otherwise could not. Optical fibers were produced with tip angles of 45 deg using a Perspex mounting block with an aluminum base plate. The dispersion of light leaving the tip was tested using a blue (470 nm) LED. The angle imposed an angular shift on the light diffracting out of the tip of approximately 30 deg. Additionally, some light reflected from the tip surface to diffract at 90 deg through the side of the fiber. These observations are consistent with theory and those seen by other studies, validating the method. The method was simple to perform and does not require advanced manufacturing tools. The method is suitable for producing small quantities of angle-tipped optical fibers for research applications